Embers
by Roadkill2580
Summary: Young Uchiha Madara demands that the rabbit on the moon give him a way to achieve peace. He's given a pink haired teenager. Flash fic series
1. Chapter 1

It was hard sneaking out this time. Izuna and their father kept a much closer eye on him after they found out just which clan Hashirama hailed from. Just the thought of it made his fists clench. The only good thing that had come from the whole disaster was the awakening of his Sharingan. Either way, Madara was going to say goodbye to Hashirama and their dreams on his own terms.

* * *

Author's Notes: Chapters will generally be between 100 and 500 words, but I won't strictly adhere to that rule. Basically, they're going to be as long or as short as I want/need them to be. Starts gen and becomes shippy later on, hopefully in a somewhat realistic manner.


	2. Chapter 2

The bright light from the swollen full moon combined with his new eye prowess made it easy to find his way to the Naka River where he had frequently met Hashirama. Madara stood on the river bank staring at the river where only days earlier he had warned his former best friend of the impending danger. Now, he could do no more to help him. Hashirama was his mortal enemy now, a member of the Senju clan. Madara turned his gaze from the steadily flowing river to the moon shining overhead.


	3. Chapter 3

His sharp vision could make out the shadows on the moon, the vague shape of the rabbit making mochi. The Uchiha were an old clan, and they did not forget the legends so easily. Madara had told Hashirama that their dreams were foolishness, the fancies of stupid children. But he had also said that the only way to peace was to become strong and _make_ their clans listen them. If there was a way to peace, then surely the moon would tell him?


	4. Chapter 4

"Otsutsuki Kaguya, great Rabbit Goddess, Princess of the Moon and daughter of the great Moon God, Tsukuyomi, hear me. If we weren't being just dumb kids…if there really is way to peace, give me a sign. Tell me how to do it. 'Cause Hashirama and I, we can make it happen. Just tell me we weren't wrong," Madara pleaded. It was the first time he remembered ever doing so in his short life. "Tell me!"

But the moon continued to shine, undisturbed.


	5. Chapter 5

Disheartened, Madara turned his face away from the moon and back to the river. If the moon didn't believe in it, wouldn't grant their dream its blessing, then it was time to say goodbye. He opened his mouth, but couldn't force the words out. They were stuck in a thick ball in the back of his throat.

"Hashirama…" he tried. Flashes of his face with his idiotic grin flickered before his mind's eye before finally settling on the last time Madara had seen him, grim and serious, yet still hopeful. Had he given up on their dream? It didn't matter. Without the moon's blessing, Madara knew what he had to do. Grow strong to protect his precious little brother and their clan. Filled with new resolve, he opened his mouth once more to say goodbye. But the moon interrupted him.


	6. Chapter 6

A whooshing and tearing sound filled the air and caught Madara's attention. His head snapped back to the moon, startled and filled with awe. Something distorted the space before the moon, something circular shaped, that started small and grew large. It grew to about two meters in diameter, a swirling vortex of…something. Then a woman fell out of the vortex and it abruptly disappeared, giving the illusion that the moon itself had spit her into existence. And maybe, Madara thought, it had.


	7. Chapter 7

It was an utterly foolish, desperate plan. Armed only with an ancient Uzumaki scroll, a dubious folktale, and Kakashi's Kamui, they made their last contingency plan in the event of Madara's imminent victory. Sakura hadn't thought they would actually have to use it. She had hoped, perhaps naively, that between the efforts of the reunited Team 7, the Five Great Nations, and the revived Hokages, they could defeat Madara. She was wrong.


	8. Chapter 8

Days of endless fighting and death against only one man, and it was Sasuke's death that had prompted Naruto to beg her compliance. Sakura herself had been grieving, not just for the loss of her teammate, but her friends and above all, her own mentor. Perhaps grief had made her rash and stupid, and that's why she agreed. She packed her things into a sealing scroll, said her goodbyes, and prepared to change history.


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura had felt in a daze as she activated the seal on the jutsu scroll. That changed very quickly when bright light surrounded her and the ground seemingly began to swallow her whole. And then she fell. She didn't know for how long, or even how a person could fall through endless black nothing, but she did. She fell for so long she thought she might have even fallen asleep. As she began to wonder for how much longer this could go on, or if perhaps she had even been unable to execute the jutsu properly, a light appeared beneath her. Then, at long last, she landed. Hard.


	10. Chapter 10

Air whooshed out of her lungs as she hit hard on her back. She coughed a few times and gingerly sat up, rubbing her lower back. A few bruises, but nothing to be concerned with. More concerning was where she was…and _when_ she was. The guidelines on how to proceed while in enemy territory came to mind. Find a safe place to gather her wits, do a little information gathering, then make her move.

"You're supposed to be our way to create peace?" a boy's voice asked. Sakura winced. It looked like those guidelines were going to have to wait.


	11. Chapter 11

When she sat up, Madara saw she was not a woman, like he had assumed, but a girl only a few years older than himself. And she was definitely not Otsutsuki Kaguya herself, like he had briefly hoped. And, not that Madara knew a lot about people who came from the moon, but what kind of moon woman had _pink_ hair? Or maybe that was just the moon's way of saying she was special. That had to be it. The moon would send down a special person to help achieve peace. She was the moon's answer, and the start of Madara's and Hashirama's dream.


	12. Chapter 12

Sakura whipped her head around to find who had spoken. There, mere feet away, was a boy with wild dark hair and gleaming red eyes. _Sharingan_ eyes. It only took Sakura seconds to recognize Uchiha Madara. His face was younger, unlined by malevolence and age, but Sakura would always be able to recognize the man who had destroyed her team, her village, and consequently, her life. Though, perhaps _this_ Madara was not yet _that _Madara. The Shodai had told Sasuke that Madara's severe personality change hadn't occurred until after Izuna had been killed by the Nidaime. Sakura considered the Madara before her, who couldn't have been more than twelve. If that were the case, if Sakura could prevent Izuna's death years in the now future, then maybe Madara's life could be spared. But first of all, what was this nonsense he was spouting about her creating peace?


	13. Chapter 13

"What are you talking about?" Sakura got to her feet with little grace, still unbalanced from her fall through time. She brushed herself off while discretely checking to make sure all her supplies had survived the trip. Numerous sealing scrolls stored extra fatigues and more weapons than most shinobi, excepting perhaps Tenten, ever carried on their person.

Madara stepped closer with a frown on his face. Now that she was observing him more closely, she could see that his Sharingan was not fully developed; he only had one tomoe in each eye. She doubted it would remain that way for long.

"Didn't the moon tell you? I told the moon to give me a way to make the dream Hashirama and I share a reality. The moon gave me you. So, moon girl, what's your name, and how exactly do you plan on achieving peace?"


	14. Chapter 14

Sakura had never heard of such a ridiculous thing. Asking _the moon_ for help and actually expecting to receive an answer? Of course, in the past few days, Sakura had learned quite a bit about how the moon factored into the legends of old, legends that the Uchiha in Madara's time still believed in. After leaving the earthly plane, Otsutsuki Kaguya was believed to reside in her original celestial home, the moon. In some tales, she was the moon. In others, it was merely her place of residence. A few named the moon Tsukuyomi and called him her father. Some tales said all three were true, and others none at all. If Madara truly thought her to have come from the moon, then he must expect her to perform some godlike feat. But it appeared that his request, or demand rather, was her own personal mission. Peace.


	15. Chapter 15

"You're a bit rude, aren't you?" Sakura said to Madara. He scowled at her. On his child's face, it was far less terrifying and more humorous than when compared to his adult visage. She ran a hand through her loose hair, glad she had thought to remove her forehead protector before making the trip. She reasoned it would be better to have as few markers indicating a possible alliance as possible.

"I can't help it if you don't look like much. Your hair doesn't exactly inspire awe," he looked meaningfully at her head. It was Sakura's turn to scowl. She still hadn't quite accepted that she wouldn't ever cut an intimidating figure on the battlefield with her small stature and unique coloring.

"But that just means you're special," Madara continued confidently. "So answer me. What's your name?"


	16. Chapter 16

Eyes were an important feature to any member of a doujutsu bearing clan, and hers were striking. They were bright and clear and their color vivid. Madara didn't think he had ever seen eyes that shade of green before. Regardless, it was a bit strange that she wouldn't know what she was here for. Wouldn't the moon have told her why she had been sent? If she didn't know, then she wouldn't know who he was. He had to gain her compliance and trust. What if she were to decide to lend her aid to someone else? Someone who wasn't interested in peace?

His eyes narrowed as his Sharingan caught the subtle movement of her shifting weight from her toes to her heels. His gaze flicked back to her own. She might not look like much but she definitely had some kind of combat training. He hadn't even noticed until now that she had been prepared to attack from the very moment she had landed. Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Tch. What a brat. I would ask what your name is, but I already know who you are, Uchiha Madara."


	17. Chapter 17

"So the moon _did_ tell you what I want then," Madara confirmed. She rolled her eyes and planted her hands on her hips.

"Would you quit with this moon nonsense that you keep going on about? _The moon_ didn't send me anywhere. It didn't tell me anything. And I most certainly did _not _come from the moon. And if you must know, my name is Haruno Sakura," she said. _Haruno Sakura_. He rolled the name around a few times in his mind. It had none of the same presence as Otsutsuki Kaguya. He never would've guessed a moon person to have a name like hers. And yet Madara couldn't deny what he had seen.

"If you didn't come from the moon, then where did you come from?" he asked pointedly.

"I came from – " she started. Her mouth closed and she looked troubled for a moment. Then:

"I came from very far away."


	18. Chapter 18

"It's okay if you don't want to admit it. It can be our secret. I won't tell anyone. Not even Hashirama," Madara swore. He could see the value in protecting a secret like that. If he were from the moon, he wouldn't want just anyone to know either. Sakura huffed.

"I suppose it's no use repeating myself is there? A stubborn kid like you will only believe what you want to," she said. He bristled at her second dismissal of him tonight. It had only been a few minutes, but already he could tell she wasn't like most adult women he knew, kept pregnant to bear future shinobi and aid the clan on the home front. Instead, she gave off an aggressive demeanor with a strong stance firmly rooted to the ground.

"Who do you think you're calling a kid? In my clan, I'm an adult. I'm just as skilled as any other ninja. Besides, it's not like you're that much older than me you know," Madara retorted. Her expression became faintly amused.

"A ninja who has to loudly boast his skill to prove himself is not a man, but a boy," she said. Madara flushed in response. There wasn't anything he could say to her words that wouldn't prove her point.


	19. Chapter 19

It wasn't very hard to dissociate this young Madara from the ancient one she had left in her time. Especially, Sakura thought privately, when he had that sulky expression on his face. Already she could see that he was prickly and proud. Sakura wondered what it had cost him, to gain a carefree friendship, only to lose it. It was enough that it had driven him to beg his deity for help, had caused the emergence of his Sharingan. She hated to take advantage of a child, even one with battlefield experience like Madara, but his belief concerning her supposed lunar origins could be worked in her favor. If she didn't screw up here, she could gain his trust now and influence the creation of Konoha years in the future.


	20. Chapter 20

Sakura tried to think of something else to say, but really, what she wanted was to hole up somewhere to make camp for a few days while she collected her thoughts and made a plan of action. Luck was with her and Madara noticed that the moon was rapidly descending.

"Damn, I've got to go before Father or Izuna find out that I left the camps. Don't you disappear or go back to the moon, okay? From now on, we're going to meet here at the river. I'll see you later, moon girl." He disappeared into the shadows before she had the chance to reprimand him. Her name wasn't moon girl, dammit.


	21. Chapter 21

Madara made it back to the Uchiha camps just as dawn was beginning to break. Under the gray cast of the sky, he crept past Izuna and pulled the covers up to feign sleep. He'd be exhausted later from his midnight expedition, but it was so, so worth it. His little brother would thank him one day when they lived in an era of peace, where their children would not have to pick up kunai, where they would not watch them be slaughtered on the fields of battle.

Madara supposed the Senju would be there too. In his pretty daydream of peace, it was easy to picture Hashirama, and if he focused, Madara could force the image of Hashirama's little brother Tobirama to come into focus. But they made for a strange juxtaposition in an imagined world of only Uchiha and the thing about Hashirama was he didn't want peace for just his clan, but everyone. The whole country, no, the whole world Hashirama wanted to be at peace. Madara didn't understand his point of view, how he could wish peace and wellness on not just his clan but his enemies. Madara could scarcely extend that same courtesy to the Senju who had killed his brothers and so many of his clansmen. But if Hashirama could do it for the Uchiha, and Madara knew he would, then Madara could at least try to do the same for the Senju. And if all else failed, Madara would have the power of the moon girl, Haruno Sakura, on his side.


End file.
